Richard Kočí

Sculptor and painter, born on 26 January 1954 in Prague. In 1966 he emigrated to the USA and in 1979 moved to Spain. He studied at North Texas State University in Denton (USA), sculpture at Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid and drawing at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios in Madrid. He began making art in 1972, when he was producing small realist figurines; in 1977 he discovered the world of engraving and printmaking, and since 1986 he has also painted. He works with wood, polymers and paint; both his sculpture and his painting fall into distinct periods (paintings 1986–1993, 1994–2016, 2019–2023, the Landscapes cycle).

Awards: a Hispanic Association scholarship and the Martínez Bueno sculpture prize (1976), an honourable mention in the 1st painting competition in Málaga (1980), the City of Burgos Prize (1984), the Carmen Arozena printmaking prize, Madrid (1985), the Máximo Ramos Prize, El Ferrol (1987).

Solo exhibitions (selection): Černá labuť Gallery and the Gallery of Critics, Prague (2023); Dobříš Chateau (2020); GASK, Kutná Hora (2018); DOX, Prague (2016 — the exhibition Swirling Dust); Pavilon Gallery, Prague (2013); Gallery of Critics, Prague (2010); Gremillon Fine Art, Houston (2009); Carpe Diem Gallery, Prague (2008); Millenium Gallery, Brno and Chodov Fortress, Prague (2007); Diamant Gallery, Prague (2006); La Femme Gallery, Prague (2004); Caesar Gallery, Olomouc (2003); Mánes Gallery, Prague (1999, 2001); Galería Utopía Parkway, Madrid (1996, 1998); ARCO ’95 and ARCO ’97, Madrid; Stadthalle Linz (1996); Čapek Brothers Gallery, Prague (1994); GKA Gallery and Nuba Gallery, Madrid (1992); Caja de Ahorros de Zaragoza (1990).